The cold season is upon us and a warm fire to sit in front of most welcome.

What is not welcome however, is a warm forehead and the burning throat of a cold!

Our way of life under a Mediterranean sky is a gregarious one, and visiting and enjoying each other’s company plays a large part.

There is, however, one situation I have never been able to get my head round; that one where we go to a friend’s home or friends come to ours and everybody exchanges the required handshakes or more usually, la bise – kisses on the cheek.

Then come the doom-filled words – “I have an awful cold”!

Oh no! ….. Back off. Hold a defensive hand up in front of your face. Turn your head away. Unfortunately, by then it is often too late.

We all know the pattern of colds:- three days coming, three days with us, three days going. I suspect the most contagious are the ‘coming’ and the ‘with’.

For those six days and bearing in mind some of us may have health problems or are more elderly, surely and with a little bit of thought, it would be kinder to stay home? True, our friends are special and we enjoy seeing them, but it just might be a good idea to ‘think twice’ before infecting them!

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